


The boy who fell in love with the moon

by Shaelamoo



Category: Haikyuu!!
Genre: Gods, M/M, The one where Tsukishima is a god, tiny tsuki, tiny yamaguchi
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2014-12-31
Updated: 2015-01-24
Packaged: 2018-03-04 14:49:00
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 3
Words: 3,708
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/3072086
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Shaelamoo/pseuds/Shaelamoo
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>The whispers of the moon have always been an aid of sleep to Yamaguchi Tadashi, ever since he was a young boy. He is much older now, a man whose skin has sagged with time. He still remembers his first encounter with the moon, and what a jerk he was, probably still is. But the moon was the most beautiful thing that Yamaguchi had laid his eyes on.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. An old lady, a shrine, and a boy

The whispers of the moon have always been an aid of sleep to Yamaguchi Tadashi, ever since he was a young boy. He's much older now, a man whose skin has sagged with time. He still remembers his first encounter with the moon, though, and what a jerk he was. Probably still is. But the moon was the most beautiful thing that Yamaguchi had laid his eyes on, apathetic and cold, but with some aspect that captivated a person to believing that there was nothing more beautiful and perfect in the world than the moon.

Yamaguchi has told the story to his grandchildren numerous times. They always loved to hear the story and loved to tell it, even if their mother lectured Yamaguchi for filling the children's head with "silly stories".

It all began when Yamaguchi was eight years old. He was short and shy with a face full of freckles and a boy with not much courage. He was bullied in school for his demeanor. His parents didn't have much time to notice that he was being picked on, any bruises or scrapes were assumed to be from falling seeing how clumsy he was or volleyball practice. They were much too preoccupied with their fighting and arguing to really notice the troubles of their son. His parents had sent him to his grandmothers for the summer while they figured out the arrangements of their divorce. Yamaguchi's parents had sat him down and explained to him their separation but it didn't bother him that much, he knew they would be happier apart. He didn't talk much, unless there was something interesting to speak about. His grandmother was the opposite however, speaking a lot in a loud voice, something not expected from a tiny wrinkled lady such as her.

She talked and talked and talked as they drove from his little town to another small town called Karasuno. She talked about the shrine she managed and the flowers in her garden. She spoke of the complexities of life and the simplicity of living. She was odd woman, Yamaguchi would always say, but not a woman without love. And she loved her shrine more than anything.

As she talked about the shrine, Yamaguchi became curious. When his grandmother paused in her ramblings Yamaguchi let a question slip from his lips. "What is the shrine for?"

Yamaguchi remembers his parents taking him to the shrine every new years. They always told him that he had to pray for another good year, but they never explained why he had to or what lived in it. His grandmother let loose a boisterous laugh.

"Now Tadashi, don't you know?" She said, shifting in her seat and glanced towards him for a second, seeing him shake his head, before she had turned her eyes back to the road. "In the shrines live gods, sometimes the gods do the little things like bringing happiness to a home but some are very powerful gods, gods that cause great destruction." Yamaguchi let loose a gasp. "Our shrine holds a very important god, the moon god. In fact, some say that in the dead of night they like to make their appearances. They never let people get close though."

"Wow! What does the moon god do?" Yamaguchi asked, enthralled by this new information.

"The moon god lights the way for travelers of the night, manages the waves of the ocean, the moon does so much and it only looks like a pretty light up in the sky huh?" She smiled.

Yamaguchi only nodded before looking back out the window and up at the sky. Before he knew it he was asleep and when he awoke they had arrived at his grandmothers.

Sleepily he climbed the steps of the shrine, dragging his luggage along a his grandmother followed close behind holding another one of his bags. By time the stood in from of the shrine he had wiped the sleepiness from his eyes and stared with curious eyes at the red shrine. Sliding doors lined the building which was built with beautiful oak floors.

As Yamaguchi's grandmother showed him to his room she talked about visitors and his attire. "While you're here Tadashi, you will have to wear the proper clothing for celebrations and for when I know I will be having visitors since it is polite and keeps up our image. Any other time however, you are free to wear what you want." She showed him where the attire was stored. "As for guests, we do have celebrations at the shrine and people come by often to ask requests of the moon god or pay their respects, just leave them to themselves or point them in my direction. Now, I will leave you to get unpacked." She smoothed his hair down before leaving the room.

Yamaguchi laid on his bed with a huff and willed the time to just slow down.

Yamaguchi's grandmother put him to work immediately, cleaning the floors and dusting rooms. People would come and go, giving their respects and chatting with his grandmother. At night she would spin tales about gods over dinner. He felt more at peace than he had for a long time.

It wasn't until his ninth night there that anything strange happened. He woke in the middle of the night to shuffle into kitchen and grab a glass of water. As he walked through the sitting room on his way to his room he tripped over a foot.

From the floor he stared at the foot before following the foot up to see it connected to a boy. A boy who sat on the couch with short tousled blonde hair. Thick rims surrounded beautiful amber eyes that stared mockingly back at him. The boy stared coldly at Yamaguchi who tried stuttering in response.

"You act like you've never seen a moon god before." The boy said, rolling his eyes when Yamaguchi's jaw dropped.

The boy stood, and he was tall, almost the size of a middle school student. Did gods even go to school? Wondered Yamaguchi as he scrambled to his feet, knocking the tv remote off the table in the process. Yamaguchi gasped in wonder as he noticed the boys skin glowed slightly.

"You're a moon god?" Yamaguchi whispered in fascination.

"That's what I said, isn't it?" The boy returned disinterestedly.

"That's so amazing!" Yamaguchi exclaimed. The boys cheeks turned a slight pink.

"I guess, my brother is also a moon god, he's really good at it." The boy said with pride.

"That's so cool! Ah, my name is Yamaguchi Tadashi, what’s yours?" Yamaguchi asked smile wide. He couldn't believe he was actually talking to a god.

"Tsukishima Kei." The boy turned to the window and clicked his tongue. "I must go."

"Wait!" Yamaguchi leapt forward, hand outreached but only grasped at empty air because the boy had disappeared.

Yamaguchi sat on the couch, in place of the boy, his mind whirling; He had just met a moon god. He felt full of energy. He sat in the seat for some time, waiting for Tsukishima's return. He fell asleep before sunrise and that is where his grandmother found him. She woke him up and sent him to his room to sleep some more where he dreamt of blonde hair and amber eyes.


	2. Disappointment and Apples

Yamaguchi woke up once more around noon. As recollections of the night before came to his sleepy mind he sat up straighter in his bed. He threw his blankets away from him and dashed out of his room. He had to find his grandmother. He ran about the house finding no trace of her before he dashed out to the garden, not even bothering with shoes. He spotted her, hardly noticing the woman she was talking to. He slid up to his grandmother and tugged on her robes.

"Grandma, grandma, you won’t believe it!" He rushed, eyes full of wonder.

She looked down at him, his bare feet and rumpled pajamas and smiled at the woman as an apology for the interruption. The woman smiled in acceptance.

"What wouldn't I believe Tadashi?" She indulged.

"I saw a moon god!" He exclaimed.

"You did?" She said, taken aback.

"Yes! His name was Tsukishima Kei and he was super tall and he has a brother who is also a moon god and he was so cool grandma!" The freckled boy rambled.

"Are you sure he was a moon god?" Asked the woman. Yamaguchi huffed.

"Yes I am, when he left he disappeared and I tried to wait for him but I fell asleep." Yamaguchi pouted.

His grandmother gently patted his head. "Maybe he will visit again tonight?"

A look of pure hope captured Yamaguchi's face. "You think he will?"

"I'm not sure, but he might."

Yamaguchi smiled widely.

"Now, we both have work we have to do before we think of any moon gods visiting, after all, how rude would it be if he visited his shrine and it was a mess?" The old woman asked.

Yamaguchi vigorously nodded before dashing off to get dressed and start on his chores.

The day passed slowly and finally the sky began to darken and the moon began to rise. Yamaguchi practically vibrated with energy. After dinner they sat on the couch talking and watching television although, Yamaguchi didn't pay much attention, too busy staring up at the moon. His grandmother retired to her room, not before tucking Yamaguchi in his makeshift bed on the couch.

Yamaguchi laid awake for several hours waiting for Tsukishima but when the moon was at its highest point sleep pulled Yamaguchi under.

Yamaguchi woke up the next morning full of disappointment. The moon god had not come, and if he had then Yamaguchi had missed him. When his grandmother saw his disappointed frown she tried to comfort him.

"Perhaps he was busy, maybe tonight he will come."

"Maybe he was." Yamaguchi replied a bit doubtful. That night all actions were repeated and once again the blond haired boy did not appear.

The third night Yamaguchi's grandmother could not bring his spirits up but he stayed awake that night waiting for the moon god once more. The god did not appear that night either. Defeated, Yamaguchi brought his blankets back to his room. The freckled boy gave up on seeing the god again and as he tried to sleep he cried before falling asleep.

As the moon rose to its highest point Yamaguchi awoke to the sound of someone making noise in the kitchen. Yamaguchi slipped from his bed to see if his grandmother had woken up or if they were being robbed. In the kitchen he found neither situation, instead the Tsukishima stood with a knife and cutting board, cutting a crab apple into slices with a scowl.

"You're back!" Yamaguchi exclaimed. The taller boy froze for a second before looking at him with his scowl.

"Shut up! You'll wake the old lady up." He glared. The glaring didn't affect Yamaguchi since he felt so happy to see the god again.

"Sorry Tsukki!" Yamaguchi whispered a smile spread across his face.

The gods glared harder. "What did you call me?"

Yamaguchi's smile turned nervous. "Oh… um, Tsukki, since your name is Tsukishima but that's such a mouthful. I didn't think you would mind but I don't have to call you it if you don't want me to?"

Tsukishima turned back to his apple cheeks slightly pink but scowl still firmly in place. "Whatever."

Yamaguchi took it as an okay. He shuffled close to the god. "I can shape those into bunny rabbits if you want?"

"I'm not a child." Tsukishima said, the like you was implied. Yamaguchi used the subject as an opportunity to ask about his age.

"You like you're eleven since you're so tall. That's not much older than me. How old are you?"

"You're annoying." Tsukishima began moving his apples onto a plate. Yamaguchi looked down, hurt by the reminder of cruel words. Tsukishima let out a sigh as he set the plate down on the table. "I'm one hundred and ten years old. My body is eight years old though. We age slowly until we're five or at least until we mature a bit, then we grow up like a human does and then when we're grown ups it slows down again."

Yamaguchi slid into the wooden chair across from the tall boy. "So cool! So you should look like a really old man then? Does magic slow down your ageing? Do you have magic, I mean, you disappeared yesterday so you have to have some magic, right? What else can you do? How old is your brother?" He babbled.

"My brother is one hundred and fifty two." Tsukishima said fidgeting with his apple slices. "We do have magic and we can do a lot of stuff, but there are limits." He began eating his slices.

Yamaguchi opened his mouth to ask more questions and Tsukishima threw an apple slice at him. "Shut up, your questions are annoying."

The freckled boy closed his mouth, mumbling a "Sorry Tsukki" before grabbing the apple slice from where it had fallen on the table after hitting his face and eating it. As he chewed he folded his arms on the table and rested his chin on them, watching the blond boy eat. There was so much he wanted to know about the boy before him. There was so much mystery to everything about him. Maybe he would eventually get to ask all the questions that ran through his head. He might have to wright it all down in order to memorize it. He wanted to be Tsukishima's friend so badly, he hoped that maybe if he wasn't loud or too annoying he could accomplish it.

Drowsiness began closing in on Yamaguchi, his eyelids becoming too heavy to stare at Tsukishima's methodic eating. Just as Yamaguchi was about to fall asleep Tsukishima stood, waking Yamaguchi up. Yamaguchi's hand shot out to grasp Tsukishima's in panic. Terrified the god would leave and never return he held on tight. Tsukishima tried to pull away at first before giving up and glaring down at him.

"Please come back again." Yamaguchi asked, turning his brown eyes up to meet the amber ones. The gods glare turned less fierce.

"If I want to I might, I am busy after all." He sniffed. Yamaguchi frowned before realizing it was just a show. He smiled and let his head fall back on his arm. "Thanks Tsukki!"

Tsukishima nodded before disappearing, leaving Yamaguchi's arm fall limp. He stood and rubbed his eyes. He looked at where the god had just sat and his smile grew wider. He picked up Tsukishima's plate, setting it in the sink before shuffling to his room. As he laid in bed he thought of all the questions he would ask Tsukki when he saw the god again. This didn't last very long as sleep finally won over.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So you might be like, why isn't the grandma waking up with all this noise? Or maybe you're not. Oh well, I will tell you anyway. The answer is, I don't really know but it's probably medication or she has a lot of fans in her room. I'm not sure, grandmas in shrines are a mystery to me.  
> As usual, let me know if you liked it or not. If not, tell me why and how I could make it better. Constructive criticism people.  
> p.s. I've been spelling it Tsuki, should it be spelt Tsukki or??


	3. Explanations, annoying spirits, and challenges.

Tsukishima came back the next night. He woke Yamaguchi with a nudge to his shoulder in order for the freckled boy to make him a late night snack. Sleepily Yamaguchi made peanut butter and jelly sandwiches for the taller boy, smiling all the while. After taking a bit Tsukishima commented on how there was too much jelly. Yamaguchi apologized, promising to make it right next time. Tsukishima huffed but Yamaguchi smiled noticing that Tsukishima did not deny that there would be a next time. They sat and Yamaguchi talked about his day throwing in questions that Tsukishima never answered until eventually the smaller boy gave a big yawn.

“Go to bed.” Tsukishima ordered.

“But I’m not tired Tsukki.” Yamaguchi whined, letting lose another large yawn.

“I need to go home anyway.”

“Where do you even live?” Yamaguchi asked, hoping to prolong their time together.

Tsukishima paused. “If I tell you will you go to sleep?” Yamaguchi was torn between wanting to stay up with Tsukki and wanting to know.

“… Fine.”

“We can either live on earth or what you humans have called heaven. I live up in the heavens with my family, which is really just another dimension that connects to earth, or at least that’s what my brother says.” Tsukki explained. Yamaguchi nodded as though he understood even though the talk of alternate dimensions just went over his head. “Now go to bed.” Tsukishima commanded. Yamaguchi let loose a wordless whine. “I will visit again, don’t be so clingy.” Tsukishima continued, looking off to the side.

Yamaguchi replied in an affirmative looking at the ground. When he looked back up Tsukki was gone. He drug himself to his room, curling up in the blankets. Slowly, sleep overcame him.

Two days passed before Tsukishima visited Yamaguchi again. This time, he didn't appear in the middle of the night but as the sun was just about to begin setting. He appeared just as Yamaguchi was dumping out a bucket of dirty water he had used to clean the shrine floors with. His sudden appearance made Yamaguchi jump and slosh dirty water on his shoes.

"Ah Tsukki! You scared me." The shorter boy said, setting his bucket down. The blond only hummed and followed the stone walkway to the back yard.

"Hey, wait for me Tsukki." Yamaguchi scrambled to follow after the god, bucket forgotten in the grass. The porch of the shrine led out to a small grass area with cherry blossom trees that led into a forest. A small pond sat midway of the grassy area. The pond was surrounded by stones and flowers that his grandmother took care of. Tsukishima crouched near the pond, his silk blue robes sprawled around him. Tsukishima looked down into the pond with an annoyed expression. Yamaguchi sat down next to him, keeping quite unless Tsukishima turned that expression on him. But Yamaguchi wasn't very good at sitting still so he fidgeted, glancing between the grass and Tsukki.

Tsukishima sighed, "You might as well start your questions. I didn't show up only to be bored."

"I can ask?" Yamaguchi grinned.

"That's what I said." Tsukishima replied.

Yamaguchi opened his mouth to as the questions that had been festering him for what had felt like ages but nothing came out. With horror his mind drew blank. He grasped at thoughts. He looked up at the sky trying to think. That was when he saw the faint outline of the moon in the darkening orange sky.

"Hurry up, I haven't got all night." Tsukki huffed.

“What do moon gods do? What does the moon do?” He blurted out.

“We control the tilt of the earth, push and pull the tides,

Looking up at the sky a question came into the freckled boys mind, "How do you raise the moon?"

Tsukki remained silent for a second. "A team does it. We have several different duties. We raise the moon, manage the tides, and so on but we can't do it alone. Other spirits help out, some of them are very low spirits that need something to do with their endless lives and some spirits just work for it. There are spirits like me who are in a higher command, they run the entire thing, schedule things, make sure everything runs smoothly, but more importantly, they do the frame work, the magic behind it. They have to be strong enough to power the moon.” Tsukishima held up his hand as a small moon appeared in it. “Sometimes members of the moon family don’t have enough power to lift it into the sky so other powerful gods have to make up for their slack.” Tsukki closed his hand the moon vanishing in silver dust that fell down the sides of his palm.

“But your brother can lift the moon up, right?” Yamaguchi asked. Tsukishima glared at him, irritated. “Of course.”

“How does it look? Is he really good at it?” Yamaguchi edged closer. The blonde boy leaned back. “Of course he’s good. He is the best. Don’t ask stupid questions.” Yamaguchi smiled letting loose a quiet “Sorry Tsukki!”

“I will get to see my raise the moon soon. He never lets me go with him to watch, says I make him nervous. You can come along if you want?”

“What does your brother do to help raise the moon? My brother helps out too.” Came a voice making Yamaguchi jump. A tiny striped bird hops up onto the stone before his body began to waver from view. The bird’s body became clear once more but in the form of a boy. He had short hair, parted to clearly show his forehead, baby fat still keeping him chubby. His eyebrows were thick and his lips sat in a bored frown. He wore a striped shirt.

Tsukishima leaned forward his face taking on the same expression. “He runs everything, he is a Tsukishima.”

The boy rolled his eyes. “Then he doesn’t do much. But I suppose it’s whatever, even gods from powerful families end up weak.”

Yamaguchi blinked his eyes at the boy, no he must be a spirit, Yamaguchi thinks absent mindedly. “Tsukki’s brother does everything though?” Yamaguchi said uncertainly, making the sentence come out in the form of a question.

“Uh, not possible. I went to watch my brother the other night, I didn’t see a single Tsukishima helping out?”

Tsukki’s eyes widened slightly. “You must be mistaken. Besides, he tells me every night about how the ceremonies go.” The spirit begins looking irritated and Yamaguchi begins sweating at the tension between the two.

“Go up and see!” He shouts. Tsukishima sneers, “We will.” Both beings stand, Tsukishima holding his hand out to pull Yamaguchi up. The freckled boy grabs it, pulling himself up unsteadily.

“Where are we going?” Yamaguchi whispers.

“To the heavens obviously.” He huffs. Yamaguchi clutched Tsukki’s hand tighter having forgotten to let go. Nervousness stirred in his stomach. He had a bad feeling about this.

“I have to tell my grandma.” He says. Tsukishima looks at him. “She saw you with me earlier, no lets go.”

“Are we going to go or just wait here all night?” The boy interrupts. Tsukishima glares in reply. “Hold on tight.” Tsukishima says before the world around him blurs from his sight.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Wow, that took me a while. Only chapter three and I am having trouble. Sorry for the lateness. Please let me know of any mistakes or if you have any ideas you think I should consider.   
> Thank you for reading.

**Author's Note:**

> So, I've had this idea for a while. I don't know how frequent the updates will be but I will try. Comments are welcome, good and bad. Thank you for reading.


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